In 1966, the electorate amended the Colorado Constitution, effective Jan. 17, 1967, to establish the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline. Article VI, Section 23(3)(d), authorizes the Commission to discipline the judiciary of courts of record for willful misconduct, willful or persistent failure to perform duties, intemperance, or violations of the ethics principles in the Canons of the Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct; retire a judge for a disability which is or is likely to become of a permanent character; and, if necessary, recommend that the Supreme Court remove a judge from office.

While the Canons guide a judge's professional conduct in the courtroom and, in certain instances, outside the courtroom, applicable law controls a judge's decisions on matters that are presented to the court for resolution. Disputes about a judge's rulings remain under the jurisdiction of the trial and appellate courts.

The Commission has jurisdiction over the conduct of Judges of County and District Courts, Judges of the Court of Appeals, and Justices of the Supreme Court. It has no jurisdiction regarding the conduct of magistrates, court staff, lawyers, law enforcement officers, the Department of Corrections, municipal judges, administrative law judges, or the federal judiciary.